Christmas...Humbug

We all know the famous line of Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, “Christmas…Humbug.”  Scrooge saw Christmas as just sentimental drivel, an excuse to shirk one’s duties by declaring a holiday from all life’s problems. Then you have Tiny Tim, the antithesis, who saw Christmas as a time to pause and thank God for His many blessings given to us throughout the year.  “A Merry Christmas to us all; God bless us, every one!”

I’m guessing most of us fall somewhere in-between the two extremes, leaning more towards a “Tiny Tim” Christmas mentality but at times letting our “Scrooge” out of the box.

The church at Colossae had a big problem.  The time was approximately 60 AD, only thirty years after Jesus died and rose from the dead for the sins of the world, and this small congregation found themselves surrounded by a culture that believed that Christmas was all “humbug.”  They believed Christmas didn’t matter, that Christ wasn’t actually born physically, and what really counted was religion; the things you did to show your sincerity.  Their flashpoints were the observance of the Sabbath and new moon celebrations, the worship of angels, a simplistic lifestyle, and circumcision.  It sounds as if the church of Colossae faced the same problem we as Christians face today; religion over relationship, sincerity over truth.

Paul wanted to address this heresy head-on in his letter to the church letting them know that it isn’t what you do that makes you right with God but rather your love relationship with Him.  

Paul wrote, “Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.  For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.  So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.”  (Colossians 2:8-10, NLT)

Paul’s words remind us that…

   1.   Christmas is God’s testimony that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man.  Jesus did come that first Christmas night to identify with us, to become in all ways like us, so that He could later die for our sins, being our sin sacrifice.  John wrote about His coming in John 1:14, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”  Christmas did happen and it happened so that Christ could build a relationship with us.  

   2.   Christmas declares God’s pre-eminence over every ruler and nation on this planet.  It didn’t matter that Caesar Augustus issued a decree for a census to be taken of the entire Roman world or that King Herod issued an edict regarding the killing of babies born in Bethlehem.  God reigns supreme over the Evil One and the evil of this world.  It doesn’t matter how crazy your life may be at present, God is always in control and will bring about an end that will ultimately bring glory to Himself and allow you to draw closer to Him.  God isn’t just a “philosophical thought” or a feeling, much like many in Colossae believed.

   3.   Christmas reminds us that our completeness is only through Jesus Christ.  Christ “made himself nothing...being made in human likeness… He humbled himself and became obedient to death –even death on a cross!”  [Philippians 2:5-11  NIV] .  He identified with us, taking on human flesh so that we could have a relationship with Him.  He was born physically so that we could be born again spiritually.

John writes in John 1:12, 13, ^“But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.  They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.”  It’s not Christ, plus something else.  Trusting is Jesus is enough and that’s what Christmas is all about.  It’s about Jesus, born of a virgin, born with humble beginnings, so that we can be born again.

This Christmas, don’t get wrapped up in all the humbug, the trappings of Christmas, the “Christ plus other stuff” mentality.  It’s always been about Jesus, His birth, His life lived on earth, His ascension to the right hand of God the Father and His coming again for us.  Christmas is what makes it all possible, it’s what completes us.

As Tiny Tim said, “A Merry Christmas to us all; God bless us, every one!”

Friendly Rivalries

Friendly Rivalries

They remind everyone before the start of the game that it’s a friendly rivalry in the spirit of good sportsmanship and as such we should all behave ourselves no matter the outcome.

Every town and every age group seems to have their rivalries.  For me, in junior high it was my Fairfield Spartans against the Geyer Bulldogs.  In high school it was my South Side Archers against the North Side Redskins.  We called them “the river rats” because their school was by the St. Joseph river.  In college, it was the Fort Wayne Bible College Falcons against the Bethel Pilots.  But this week, I was again reminded that there is no rivalry like the Ohio State Buckeyes and T.T.U.N [The Team Up North], which some refer to as the Michigan Wolverines.

Some say it isn’t a rivalry anymore because Ohio State has won fourteen of the last sixteen meetings, yet Michigan still leads in the overall record 58-48, with six ties.  Last Saturday was a game for the ages as Ohio State came from behind to win in double-overtime, 30-27.

Then two days later, tragedy struck the campus of Ohio State, as a Muslim extremist drove his vehicle into a crowd of students and then jumped out of the car wielding a knife, attacking those close by.  Michigan players immediately tweeted out their support and encouragement to those affected by the attack.  Concern for a fellow combatant superseded the rivalry.

The Urban Dictionary defines a “friendly rivalry” as “A connection shared between people who can’t stand each other’s guts but don’t dislike each other either.”  That about sums up this rivalry.  We can’t stand them but we need them so we put up with them.  OSU engineering professor William Clark was among the victims in Monday’s knife attack.  After the ordeal, Clark reminded everyone what is really important, “University campuses are vulnerable to this kind of thing because we are an open society where young people can grow up and learn and make a certain amount of mistakes.”  He continued, “We’re still a great university.  We still beat Michigan!”

For many Christians, their relationship with Satan falls under this category of “friendly rivalry.”  We “hate his guts” yet we “don’t totally dislike him” either.  He’s our bitter enemy yet some Christians choose to follow his playbook.  They wear the “Jesus” jersey yet they do things that make people question which side they are really on.  These people go to church on Sunday yet cuss out the person who cuts them off in traffic.  They put $10 in the offering plate at church but fail to lift a hand to help a neighbor.  They tell people how much they care about their circumstances and that they are praying for them, then gossip about them to others.  This is called fraternizing with the enemy.  How long will Christians continue this love-hate relationship with the devil?  It’s like me wearing a Michigan shirt to an OSU rally.  I don’t think that would go over very well with those sitting beside me.

In Philippians 3:18-20, Paul has some very pointed words for those who call themselves Christian but live as though they are not.  “For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.   They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.  But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.”  [NLT]

As Christians we must be all in.  Our loyalties are to lie with Christ.  If you’re a Christian today whose actions or attitudes do not line up with your faith testimony, I encourage you to do one of two things.

1. Quit saying you hate Satan while continuing to do the very things that make him smile, or...

2. If you refuse to change your worldly lifestyle, quit saying you love Jesus.  You make it harder for others who do, who want to live a life “worthy of their calling,” who want to make a difference in God’s kingdom and who want to share the good news with others. 

This may sound a bit harsh but there is no friendly rivalry when we talk about spiritual warfare.  Satan is not a friendly rival; he isn't just someone we cheer against.  He is our bitter enemy who seeks to do us harm.  If you do things that please him, the Apostle Paul says that makes you an enemy of the cross of Christ as well.  You can’t have it both ways, so quit trying.

The Doxology

Every Sunday it was the same.  The offering plates were passed, the ushers gathered the collection at the back, walked in step to the front and placed the plates on the communion table as the congregation rose in unison and sang out The Doxology...

 

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

What a wonderful hymn!  I miss singing it each week in church.

The words actually date back to 1674, when Bishop Thomas Ken published “A Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Scholars of Winchester College.”  His goal was to motivate the students in their devotions by writing a series of hymn prayers, one to be sung when rising in the morning, one to be sung at night, and then one to be sung at midnight, if still awake.  The doxology we know today was the last stanza of each prayer.  What a wonderful way to begin and end each day.

According to Merriam-Webster the word “doxology” comes from the Greek word doxa meaning “glory” and logia referring to “oral or written expression.”  The Doxology we sing is our expression of glory and praise to God for who He is and for what He has done in our lives.

This Thanksgiving season, no doubt your holiday will be filled with food, family, football, and Black Friday shopping.  But don’t let the day pass without your expressing praise to God for who He is and for the blessings He has bestowed on you and your family.

In fact, what a great idea Thomas Ken had to wake up every morning and lay down each night singing your God’s praise.  What an impact that would have on our lives as we bookended our day with praise to God.  Don’t let your thanksgiving just be on Thanksgiving, but make it a daily practice.  Acknowledge that all good things come from God in heaven [James 1:17] and that He is worthy of all our praise [Psalm 8].

Towards the end of his life, Thomas Ken was imprisoned by King James II because of his religious beliefs.  Upon his release from prison, he quietly went to live out his years with friends, but it didn’t stop him from praising his Lord.  He died on March 11, 1711, being buried at sunrise as the people gathered round to sing The Doxology. 

The Curse is Lifted!

The Curse is Lifted!

 

The scene is the 1945 World Series.   The Cubs are down two games to one to the Detroit Tigers.  William Sianis, owner of Billy Goat Tavern, brings his pet goat to the game and buys it a ticket.  The goat, being a goat, begins to annoy the fans sitting around it.  Eventually Sianis is told that the goat has to go.  As Sianis takes his goat out of Wrigley Field he mutters, “Them Cubs, they ain’t gonna win no more.”  And the rest is history.  They end up losing the World Series to Detroit in seven games. 

So began the “curse” of the Chicago Cubs, which continued until last night when they defeated the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in ten innings.  At times, it looked like the curse would remain intact, as the Cubs did everything they could to lose that game.  Regardless, the Cubs ended an 108 year long drought of winning the World Series and ended the 71 year old “Curse of the Goat.”

According to Merriam-Webster, a curse can be defined as “evil or misfortune that comes as if in response to something said in anger or as retribution.”  You might not think about this often, but we all live under a curse and it’s been going on for longer than 71 years.  This curse is more like 6000 years.  It’s the curse put in place due to the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

Genesis 3:17 tells us, “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.”  Romans 8:22 informs us that this “whole creation has been groaning, as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”  There is absolutely no chance that this curse will be lifted anytime soon.  For now, we persevere in a world where we must labor and toil, where we get sick and eventually die.

Another result of Adam and Eve’s disobedience is that we are all placed under sin’s curse which is judgment and spiritual death, eternal separation from God.  As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 16:22, “If anyone does not love the Lord –a curse be on him.”

Here’s the good news.  While we can’t do anything about creation’s curse, God did what we couldn’t do in relation to the curse of sin and death.  Galatians 3:13 reads, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.’   His dying on the cross for our sins made it possible for the curse to be lifted!  All we must do is receive His gift of love and salvation.  My curse was lifted when I was four and a half years old.  For some it may take longer.  If you still live under sin’s curse, I encourage you to not be like the Cubs and wait 71 years.  Do it today!

And now about the Cleveland Indians.  They will have to wait for next season to attempt to end their curse, the curse of Rocky Colavito, which now stands at 56 years and counting.